


expected surprises

by PaintedVanilla



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aquariums, Inspired by Fanart, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 06:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17218334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedVanilla/pseuds/PaintedVanilla
Summary: Wilson is surprising, but in a surprisingly predictable manner.





	expected surprises

**Author's Note:**

> im watching hosue for the first time, and im only on season four. sorry for any inaccuracies !!

House has a complicated relationship with surprises.

On one hand, surprises can be interesting. When he’s working a case, and there’s a surprise, it’s almost never an inherently good thing, but it is interesting. It’s something that adds complexity to the case, which makes it even more satisfying to diagnose. When a patient surprises him with a symptom, or with a gesture, or with their stupidity, no matter how much it hurts (or, in very rare instances, helps) the case, it never fails to make things more interesting.

On the other hand, surprises mean that House didn’t see something coming. When he surprises himself with a diagnosis, or - even worse - one of his  _ fellows _ surprises him with a diagnosis, it means House failed to put together all the puzzle pieces. It means he missed something along the way that, in the end, shouldn’t have ever resulted in a surprise. 

Most of the time, House can avoid being surprised. Especially when it comes to Wilson. Wilson is surprising, but in a surprisingly predictable manner. Maybe House doesn’t  _ expect _ him to drug his coffee with antidepressants, or steal and maim his guitar, or turn him over to the police. But as soon as House  _ realizes  _ Wilson has drugged his coffee; as soon as House  _ finds  _ the ransom note left near his conveniently missing guitar; as soon as Wilson  _ says,  _ “I told Tritter I didn’t write those prescriptions.” well, then it’s perfectly in character. 

As soon as Wilson surprises House, it’s not a surprise. It’s just Wilson being Wilson, and House being House, and Wilson using his far too expansive knowledge about him to his advantage to predict exactly what he will and won’t see coming. House uses up more energy pretending that it gets on his nerves than he does actually letting it get on his nerves. But if he lets Wilson know he  _ likes _ it, he’s going to keep doing it. 

(Wilson doesn’t know he likes it - he knows he loves it. Which is why he has purchased two tickets to an aquarium and a ring.)

House wouldn’t say he thinks  _ nothing  _ of it when Wilson asks him to accompany him to the aquarium. Most of their dates are spent in places where House doesn't have to do an excessive amount of walking; secluded booths in atmospheric restaurants, or House’s couch. The aquarium seems like a bit of an odd spot to pick, but Wilson doesn’t even push that hard for them to go. He almost seemed timid about asking, which says to House that he  _ really  _ wants to go, and he really wants him to go with him, but he knows if he pushes too hard, it’ll be an automatic no. And, well, House certainly wouldn’t consider himself the most generous man on earth, but who is he not to indulge his boyfriend in something he wants to do, every once in a while?

The low, blue hued lighting certainly sets some kind of mood. The dull, background humming is about as attention grabbing as the pain in House’s thigh, which means Wilson picked a good day to ask him to walk around with him. As they make their way from room to room, House almost wants to reach out and take his hand. But of course, he doesn’t; that would be sappy.

They come to a room where the tank stretches floor to ceiling; a cylinder that the room wraps around. House and Wilson walk around it twice, making small talk about everything and nothing. It’s so comfortable that House doesn’t even realize, as they begin their third walk around the tank, than Wilson isn’t walking right next to him anymore. By the time House realizes he’s fallen behind, he’s only a few paces ahead of him; he turns around with a quip on his lips about how  _ he’s  _ the one with a cane, and how Wilson should really be able to keep up, but instead he gets surprised.

Wilson is down on one knee, his hands unsteadily holding open a ring box, which is home to a simple gold band. His face is flushed in the dim blue lighting, a loving smile on his lips. 

House spends half a second berating himself; how could he have  _ not  _ noticed? Wilson seemed nervous on their way here, enough for House to tease but not enough for him to overthink. How long ago did he buy the ring? He’s not even wearing a coat, where was he keeping the box? How could House not have noticed the lump that a ring box makes in a pocket? 

But then House’s eyes move from the ring, to Wilson’s face, and he’s suddenly overwhelmed with affection. He’s being proposed to, and he had no idea up until this very moment. Wilson is proposing to him in the dim lighting of an aquarium; it’s the last place House would expect him to get down on one knee, and of  _ course  _ that’s what he’s doing. 

House feels a smile creeping onto his face; he tries in vain to make it a smug one, but before he can stop himself, he’s looking down at Wilson with the same amount of affection Wilson is looking up at him with. He can’t find anything to be smug about; he can’t find a reason to be cynical; he can’t even think of a joke to make. He just feels how warm his cheeks are and how warm his heart is to match and he doesn’t want to speak, because he knows if he does, he’ll destroy this moment. 

That’s normally his first goal when Wilson attempts anything romantic: go straight for the jugular and do something to derail the situation. He can’t have him getting too sappy; he can’t have  _ himself  _ getting too sappy. But here, with the two of them washed in shades of blue and the strange intimacy of having no witnesses besides the fish, House wants to indulge Wilson. He wants to indulge  _ himself _ . He knows however much Wilson wants to cherish this moment, he somehow wants to cherish it even more.

So he doesn’t say anything; Wilson doesn’t say anything back. They both know what he’s asking, and all it takes is for House to reach out and offer him his hand to help him back up for them both to know what House’s answer is.

Once Wilson is back on his feet, he kisses House. House normally isn’t one for public displays of affection, but there’s no one in the exhibit with them - besides the fish, nosey bastards - so he allows it. He also allows Wilson to slip the ring onto his finger, and he even lets him hold his hand for a moment. While Wilson is fixated on looking at the ring on House’s finger, he gives House an excuse to express the amount of affection he feels without feeling like an idiot.

The moment of quiet intimacy passes when, on the other side of the exhibit, a mother comes in with her kids. Wilson drops House’s hand and the two of them take a tentative step apart, but neither of them can wipe the grins off their faces.

They walk around the tank a third time; as they do, House reaches down and takes Wilson’s hand in his. 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] expected surprises](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19056448) by [smallredboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallredboy/pseuds/smallredboy)




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